June 12-13, 2019 Edged Weapon, Armor, & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/13/2019
This radio is attributed to Admiral William Halsey who was responsible for leading the Allied forces in the Pacific Theater from 1941-1945 and took part in quiet possibly the largest naval battle in military history, the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. This battle expended much of the Japanese militaries naval forces of carrier aircraft and pilots. After the United States victory over Japan, Halsey was assigned special duty in the office of the Secretary of the Navy and in December of 1945, took the oath as Fleet Admiral, becoming the fourth and still to date most recent naval officer awarded that rank. Documents with this radio include: U.S. Army photographs of Halsey, two signed portraits of Halsey to Thurber, a letter of authenticity from the heir of Thurbers estate, a newspaper article "The tale of Japan's surrender, as told 40 years ago", a typed poem "Nimitz and Halsey and Me", a letter from Halsey to Thurber, a copy of the "Documents pertaining to the Japanese Surrender", a document pertaining to the China Defensive, and a newspaper from The Arizona Daily Star titled "We Conquer Japan". The letter from the heir claims this radio was carried with Halsey through WWII and relayed many important messages regarding the war. The radio is constructed of bare and painted wood with a screwed in plate that reads "Model Reo/ Radio Receiving Equipment". The serial number "1834" is found just below stamped into the plate. The rear of the radio is constructed of a one piece board with painted on text indicating the different terminals and plug ins. A plate in the rear is stamped with the navy anchor and reads "Accepted by Navy/ 11/27/45". The "Placed in Service" section is unmarked. CONDITION: Wood components are in fine shape aside from a crack along the top of the front panel. The majority of the paint is still present with areas of wear on some edges of front panel, and a 1 - 1/4" area of loss above the power knob. Metal plates are in excellent condition. Rear panel is in excellent condition retaining 95%+ of paint on panel and text. Overall this is a fine radio attributed to the highly regarded, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey.
Item Dimensions: 14" x 7" x 8".